Wrong arrest in luring case

After 4 months, prosecutors admit man innocent

By BRAD WONG, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, October 10, 2006

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Wrong arrest in luring case

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(Editor's Note: This story has been altered. The original version of this story incorrectly described the criminal charges against Robert Powell of Issaquah that were dismissed this week. The charges were luring, a felony; and indecent exposure, a misdemeanor. The story also incorrectly stated that those charges already have been refiled against Jeb Burgess of Bellevue. Burgess is facing different charges involving other children.)

For more than four months, Robert Powell was a tormented soul -- charged with attempting to lure an 11-year-old girl into his Dodge van.

After the girl picked him out of a photo lineup and described the van, the 53-year- old Issaquah man was arrested. His apartment was searched. His car was impounded. He spent a day in jail before his friends could raise the bail.

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King County prosecutors belatedly dropped two charges -- luring, a felony; and indecent exposure, a misdemeanor -- pending against Powell.

A Bellevue man is now a suspect in the case. Jeb Burgess, 41, was charged with indecent exposure and stalking regarding a string of other cases involving children between May and September in Redmond and Issaquah.

Prosecutors acknowledged the blunder Tuesday, noting they recently received police reports about the other cases now linked to Burgess.

"Knowing what we know now, we would have not charged" Powell, said Mark Larson, chief criminal deputy for the Prosecutor's Office. "We regret having charged him."

Powell is fuming and threatening to sue. He claims he's out $6,000 spent to post bail and other costs.

"Who compensates me?" he asked. "If I didn't have friends who stuck by me, I would still be in jail."

Powell's nightmare began in May when Issaquah police officers questioned him at his apartment.

On May 30, the Issaquah girl reported that she was walking in the 300 block of First Place Northwest when a white van with a brown stripe pulled up alongside.

She said the man behind the wheel -- who she told investigators had brown hair and possibly blue eyes and was wearing a white T-shirt -- told her: "Come with me, I wanna show you my tree."

The girl ran home and reported the encounter to her parents, who drove around the neighborhood -- eventually spotting a white van with a brown stripe.

They called Issaquah police, who traced the van to Powell. When officers arrived at his apartment, they found a thin man with straight dark hair -- somewhat matching the description.

Powell, who works odd jobs, told them they had the wrong man because he had been raking leaves at the time of the alleged incident. He refused to let the police in.

In their report, the officers described Powell as "nervous" and "very agitated."

Using a search warrant, officers found a leather "Lasso Rope" in the van, along with a stick, a Buck knife, zip ties and other rope. In their report, the officers said the stick may have been the "tree" the girl mentioned.

Powell, who lives on disability in subsidized housing, claims police treated him poorly because he's a low-income resident. Records going back 20 years show he has had no other arrests.

"Once they had me, they started to bend the evidence they had to fit me," he said. "They were just talking to me like garbage."

He told officers that Bill and Melinda Gates wouldn't have been treated that way.

Issaquah police Chief Dave Draveling said Tuesday that his officers acted properly. "As far as I'm concerned, the facts were sufficient for an arrest," he said.

But Larson said the blunder illustrates the need for prosecutors to keep an open mind. "You don't want to fall into tunnel vision," he said.